Judgment Day
by t.j.guard
Summary: Apep returns, and this time, he means business. The question is, can Tally stop him in time?
1. Prologue

Outlaw: Judgment Day

Disclaimer: I don't own Night at the Museum.

A/N: Picks up where Fighting for Dawn left off, pairings still apply.  
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Prologue

Anubis scanned the courtroom of the underworld carefully. True to form, Cecil, Gus, and Reginald were based at three of the main entrances. At times, he wondered how he couldn't judge these three, in spite of the evidence he had, and, as usual at times like these, his thoughts drifted to Tally. He shook his head, and he gradually became aware of a few odd noises just outside the courtroom.

The volume of the noises increased until, finally, one of the doors burst open.

Tally clocked in just several minutes before sunset, her lunch for the night in tow, and went about her rounds. Very quickly, she noticed that some men were packing up Jesse James' display, but she had no need to ask questions, so she walked on to the Egyptian wing, where she silently readied Ahkmenrah's sarcophagus.

Tally took a step back to watch the tablet glow and awaken the whole museum. Ahkmenrah climbed out of his sarcophagus and said, "Oh, you're early."

"What? Did you expect me to be ten minutes late?" Tally asked, her hands on her hips.

"Oh, no, no." He stepped over and put his hands on her upper arms. "I was just surprised, is all."

"I know," Tally said with a smirk.

"You've accepted McPhee's advice and taken to maternity wear, I see."

"I didn't really have a choice."

"Makes sense. How is the child?"

"Guess what?"

"What?"

"They managed to determine the gender."

"And may I ask about it?"

"You, my friend, have an heir."

Ahkmenrah pulled Tally into him and whispered into her hair, "Oh, thank you, Tally. Thank you."

"Hey, for the record, the dude determines the gender of a child. They just figured that out way after your time."

He pulled away, blushing visibly. "Let's...ah...go to the party."

"Okay, I'm down with that."


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Tally chose to eat lunch in the diorama room. As usual, Jed and Octavius were off doing whatever they did, and she had chosen, as usual, not to ask. She hadn't seen Jesse anywhere, and she hadn't heard anything from the Western Wing, so she could only assume he had accepted his fate.

After about thirty minutes, she tossed her plastic fork in the trash, along with the plastic container she'd no longer had a use or a space for. Ahkmenrah was in one of the empty corridors, staring up through the skylight at the velvet colored sky section.

"Found a good view?" she asked.

"Yes, I have, just now," he replied.

"You're too sweet."

He nuzzled her nose and kissed her gently. "Are you sure you feel well?"

"Positive, or as positive as I can be for my first pregnancy."

"Good. I'm glad. I can't have my future wife ill, now can I?"

"Guess not. Now, we've gotta figure out how we're gonna do this whole wedding thing. It's a little bit different nowadays, just so you know."

"Thanks for the note."

"Sure, no problem."

"How do you feel about marriage?"

"I guess it's a necessary step in the relationship."

"Do you not want to go through with this?"

"I do, but I just wonder. You know you're immortal and I'm not, and eventually, I'm going to get old and die."

"Are you going to still work at the museum when you're older?"

"I can't see me doing anything else."

"Well, then."

"Why did you ask?"

"I have a hope that we may never be apart."

"If we are, it's not my fault."

"I'll remember that."

Jed sighed and pressed Octavius into him. "Is everythng alright?" Octavius asked.

"Yeah, 's fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Hundred percent."

"I want nothing more for you, my love."

"I ain't askin' for nothin'. I got you, 'n that's all I need."

"I have you, in a very similar manner."

Jed smiled and ran his fingers through Octavius' short hair.

An hour or so before dawn, Ahkmenrah returned to the Egyptian wing, where he found Kahmunrah waiting for him. "How are things?" he asked.

"Well, presently," Ahkmenrah replied, "things are going well."

"Good, good. Is there anything I should know?"

"Actually, I'd rather it be a surprise."

"Oo, surprises." When Ahkmenrah had redirected his attention, Kahmunrah muttered, "Surprises, always surprises."

Tally sighed, watching the movers prepare to ship out the Jesse James exhibit. "Been nice knowin' ya," she whispered, clocking out and heading out the front door, where she caught up with McPhee.

"All is well, I trust?" he asked.

"About as fine as you can expect," she replied. "No chaos, no madness. I'd actually say this was a good night, compared to a few others."

"Oh, I imagine." McPhee chuckled. "On a more serious note, they're asking questions."

"Who? Who's asking questions?"

"Police, the public, journalists, you name it. Apparently we're part of some government conspiracy."

"Yeah, the only government conspiracy we're involved in is an ancient Egyptian one," Tally said wryly. "Of course, to each his own."

"We'll be under fire within a matter of days."

"In which case, if they want a good story, we'll tell them everything. The police won't believe us, but a lot of others will."

"Let's hope so." He clapped her on the back once, adding, "Get a lot of rest."

"I'll try." Tally walked down the stairs and called for a cab, wondering if she should get a bus pass.

Cecil, Gus and Reginald jumped the snake as it barged into the courtroom, and soon, they were joined by an immortal guard force, some of the more powerful gods surrounding the scales which contained the feather. One of the gods drove a spear through the snake's skull, and after it writhed free, it disappeared, leaving the group fully prepared to fight it stunned, mostly unable to move. 


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

Tally checked her messages when she got back to the apartment, having had the odd feeling that for some reason, Johanna had tried to call her. She was right, and Johanna had tried to reach her, failing miserably and leaving a message like, "Please call me back, it's your mother, dear."

She deleted the message without a second thought.

Her mind drifted to Apep, who had proven a capable shapeshifter and mimic of voices. Perhaps this was another of his tricks.

Regardless, Johanna hadn't called her since an hour after her marriage, obviously to a strict family man who knew next to nothing about how long Tally and Johanna had been estranged, or for what reasons.

"What a nutjob," she said to herself as she opened her Sociology and Psychology textbook and started her reading.

Several hours later, when Tally was on the verge of falling asleep in the middle of her homework, something tapped at her window. She marked her page and set the book aside, walking over to the window, wondering if she was dealing with an eccentric window cleaner.

However, when she reached her window, what she found wasn't a window cleaner at all, but a man with a falcon's head, tapping on the window with his beak. She unlocked her window and allowed the man-bird to enter. "I was almost wondering if you were going to spout something about avian flu," he said.

"Horus, right?" Tally asked.

"How'd you know?"

"It's a long, complicated story, but cliff-notes version: I'm engaged to an ancient Egyptian mummy who told me all this."

"He mustn't really be a mummy if he has enough of his wits about him to tell you the old legends."

"Well, there's a tablet at the museum I work at that brings all the exhibits to life at night."

"Yes, it's quite a fascinating object. Ra blessed it with his light, and it is a great source of power. Many gods tell of your connections to this tablet."

"Yeah, it sort of happened by accident."

"As most heroes are made."

"Yeah, sure, I guess. Anyway, pickles and gravy?"

Horus chucked, but he held his hand up and said, "I think I'll pass. Spare you a moment?"

Tally fixed herself a bowl of pickles and gravy and invited Horus to sit down on the sofa, where she enventually joined him. "So, what brings you to these parts?"

"I'm here on business from the underworld."

"Apep, right?"

"Good work."

"Thanks."

"You see, he's finally chosen to abandon his fight with Ra last night to attack the courtroom."

"Right, so did he win?"

"Inconclusive."

"Okay. So what does he want in the underworld?"

"To destroy ma'at."

"The truth feather?"

"Yes, more or less. Perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to send that James character off."

"Look, the decision wasn't mine. I'm just a night guard, and I'm definitely not in any position to be making any rules."

"I understand, but I'm sure eventually, your curator will regret it. You'll need all the help you can find."

"There might be a way," Tally said, slowing her voice and racking her brain. "Ahk showed me a way to defend the tablet by freezing everyone in the museum, so maybe there's a converse operation."

"You have more intuitive knowledge as to the tablet's power than many others."

"I'm just wondering if there's a way I can be able to do something about this."

"I'm sure there's something you can do something, Tally. However, this promises to end all battles."

"Does it? Good and Evil are always going to fight each other."

"Yes, true, but with your help, we may accomplish much, and even gain the advantage."

"What about if we kill Apep? What happens then?"

"His demons will be in chaos, which may provide enough energy to revive at least his body, which would be theirs to possess."

"So not only will he be Darkness incarnate, he'll have mulitple personality disorder?"

"Yes."

"So we can't really kill him, then, can we?"

"Leave that to us."

At a loss for words, Tally walked into the kitchen and rinsed out her bowl, chewing her lip and browsing her mental files. Finally, she said, "What about Cecil?"

"Cecil?"

"My granddad. What about him and his two buddies?"

"Ah, yes, the wandering spirits, of course."

"Wandering spirits?"

"They cannot be judged in the underworld because they haven't completed the journey."

"Takes all kinds."

"Yes, it does. Perhaps they may be of some help to us and consequently complete their journey."

"Sometimes they never can."

"This has been known to happen, and it may be the case with your grandfather and his friends. Have they any unfinished business that you know of?"

Tally paused, thinking back to one of the many arguments that Gus and Reginald had had in years past that Cecil ended up mediating, or trying to. "They had this grand scheme," she said. "Well, it's not really all that grand, and it was Reginald's idea originally."

"Ah, I see. Have we a use for this plan in defending ma'at?"

"Maybe, and maybe it's more than that. Remember, this is Apep we're dealing with. He's a shapeshifter, sort of, and he does impressions."

"So he is the sort of dangerous foe which may hide in plain sight in New York or another such city?"

"Yes, all for the purpose of devouring the sun."

Horus rose and walked over to the window. "I hope this conversation has been beneficial to you, and I know it's provided me with quite a good deal of information." With that, he shifted into the form of a falcon before Tally's eyes and flew out the open window.

"Takes all kinds," she muttered, shutting the window and walking back over to her couch and returning to her homework.


	4. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

McPhee watched the saner, older set trickle in and out of the museum in the late afternoon hours. A smile played on his lips, thinking of the peace that came with the rise of the sun which froze in place all the museum exhibits. Sometimes he would chuckle over the thought that none of the visitors had any idea what made the museum tick. It reminded him of the days when he was a schoolboy and would keep and tell secrets whenever he felt like it.

He walked down one of the corridors which led from the lobby to almost anywhere in the museum, up a flight of stairs, and onto the balcony overlooking the lobby. If he hadn't known any better, he'd have suspected nothing, but the patterns on the floor, the memory of all the damage that had been inflicted over the years by fights between forces of good and evil, so the night guards claimed, the stories some of the exhibits would tell when they thought he wasn't listening, all served to unravel his calm.

The curator also had the sense of a crescendo, building to its culmination just as it did in the concert hall. The exhibits often discussed a snake demon some of them called Apep, his return, which was imminent, what score he might have had to settle. Sure, the exhibits talked quite frequently amongst themselves when they weren't being asked questions, but this buzz never died. The name Apep was on the lips of every exhibit able to speak, from the miniatures to Ahkmenrah the mummy.

It'd been some days since that last confrontation, where he'd recieved a warning from the miniatures, but it still had the power to, at least on occasion, require a shotgun. If nothing else, it would be of some use against gangs who thought it was hilarious to shoot out the museum's front doors' windows and endanger innocent, paying civilians.

He checked his watch, and sure enough, at exactly six-o'-clock, Larry and Tally walked into the museum and clocked in. He shook his head and sighed softly; one could've kept a watch by those two. McPhee walked back downstairs to his office under the premise of doing paperwork, when he heard some strange noises coming from just outside the office door.

Of course, in his paranoia, if he checked, he knew nothing would be there, or nothing readily apparent, but even so, he checked every angle carefully, and the corridor was completely empty. He was right, as usual, and his reason trumped his instincts.

Returning to refiling everything in an attempt to clean up his desk, he heard the noises again, so he checked again. A falcon stood just inches from the threshold, looking up at him and cocking its head to one side. "Are you lost, little one?" McPhee asked, holding his hand out to the falcon, who flew up to it and landed. "How about you come inside with me, hm?" He walked back into his office and shut the door behind him, wondering to himself what a falcon was doing in his museum, or how it got in there in the first place.

'I'm here because of the trouble to come,' a man's voice said in his mind. 'You must ready yourself, Dr. McPhee.'

"You're telling me this how?" McPhee asked.

'I'm the telepathic falcon on your arm, Dr. McPhee.'

"What do you want with me?"

'I want you to trust me, because there's so much which is about to change all around you and your museum. Pay much closer attention to the exhibits' gossip, because there is a grain of truth in what they speak of.'

"About this Apep character?"

'Yes, and he is a very dangerous adversary, so watch him and watch for any person you may not recognize. Be at the ready at all times.'

"For what?"

'Anything out of the ordinary. The night guards may be able to assist you, and I've already alerted one of them.'

"Is it really that serious?"

'It's more serious than you realize, doctor.' The falcon flew toward the door, where he hovered for a second, while McPhee opened it and the bird flew out and vanished into thin air several feet down the corridor.

McPhee leaned against the door after he shut it and rubbed his eyes. How on earth could this be happening to him, in this manner? He knew weird things happened in the Natural History Museum, but this was absolutely ridiculous.

"Hey, McPhee, you okay?" Tally asked, knocking on his office door.

"Please, come in," McPhee said, turning around and opening the door.

Tally stepped in, gingerly, watching McPhee's face. "Dude, something's up. I can tell."

McPhee opened his mouth to make a comment about being called 'dude', but an entirely different set of words spilled out of his mouth. "Are you familiar with a telepathic falcon?"

"I met a guy with a falcon's head earlier today. Does that count?"

"I...I don't know. All I know is it said it met with one of the night guards earlier today."

"Must be the same, then."

"Oh, really? That changes the game entirely."

"Yeah, but there's been a lot of game changers lately."

"Oh, really?"

"Look, it's complicated, really complicated. We're locked in a war between good and evil, and it's about to get a lot worse before we're done with it."

"Oh, that sounds lovely."

"Yeah, well, we've gotta be ready, no matter what."

"I may need to get that shotgun after all."

"Shotgun?"

"It has many uses, given the number of hooligans that shoot out the windows however often they do."

"Okay, you've got a point there. You sure you're gonna be okay?"

"Absolutely positive."

"Good to know."

Tally smiled and left to walk down the corridor to finish her rounds, leaving McPhee to weigh everything he'd heard and seen. "This is one weird museum," he said, walking over to his chair and collapsing in it.


	5. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Tally spent much of her daylight hours gathering information, trying to form a cohesive plan. She knew she had Brunden on her side, at least, after he replied to her long explanatory email with a simple 'Ok'.

The problem still remained, however. Apep wanted the feather of Ma'at, Truth, and he was willing to kill for it if he achieved his aim of panic and chaos globally.

There was, however, one hole in his plan. Unless he could maintain it, his world of chaos and insanity would collapse.

She hoped he was forward-thinking enough to be a formidible enemy in the fight against evil. That would be something, at least, which would make the fight worth something, whether she lost or not.

Her computer beeped, alerting her to an email, which turned out to be from Larry.

'Tally, Nicky thinks he found something that might be able to help you. He said Ahkmenrah told him about a way ancient Egyptian priests would destroy pictures of Apep to keep him at bay.'

'Makes sense,' Tally typed in her reply. 'Egyptians believed an image of a person preserved its soul. It's a good idea. Maybe we'll try it.'

She logged onto the internet and began to research this method, which was actually a seven step process involving hot knives, saliva, much cutting, and other dangerous and unbecoming methods of otherwise destroying someone, which concluded in burning the image entirely.

She leaned back in her chair, her hand on her chin and her other hand supporting her elbow. It seemed like a really, really good idea, one which had some actual merit, but she wasn't stupid. Apep could've been anyone she'd seen on the street, or could've been one of her cabbies, or any of the museum's paying patrons.

Aside from the shapeshifting and voice mimicry, he was also extremely dangerous and so powerful there was almost no way to kill him.

She wanted to think she could try to kill him, but she had to be realistic.

Without warning, she walked into the kitchen and microwaved up a bowl of peas she'd had left over. To that, she added a scoop of chocolate chip ice cream and called it lunch. With the bowl in hand, she returned to the computer and reviewed the ancients' method of keeping Apep at bay. Even under review, it seemed like a good idea, one she might be able to use, so she bookmarked the page.

She leaned back in the chair again, rubbing her eyes and lapsing into a state she was familiar with from the last time she'd had a vision.

In it, though, every person was frozen, leaving her alone, the only one able to move. In her soul, she knew this was her doing, because of everything she'd learned and experienced.

When she opened her eyes again, she muttered, "It's too dangerous, but what can I do with it?"

Her mind tripping off on a new tangent, she fished out her phone and dialled a number.

"Hello?" McPhee asked.

"Where did Jesse James end up?" Tally asked. "Is there a model of him that's close?"

"Our Jesse is actually due back from his tour within two days."

"So he wasn't transferred?"

"Where on Earth did you hear that?"

"Must've just been a rumor floating around. I think he can help with our Apep situation."

"Apep?"

"The snake demon."

"Ah. What makes you say that?"

"Some messages from Ahkmenrah's gods."

"Oh, really. Well, then. How's your pregnancy treating you, if I may ask."

"It's pretty normal. I haven't miscarried yet, so so far so good."

"That's good."

"Been nice talking to you."

"As was with you. I'll see you tonight."

"You got it." Tally hung up and set her phone next to the computer, walking over to the couch to catch a few hours of rest before her shift.

McPhee hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. Tally was certainly an interesting character, but she's also seen a lot in her two or so years working for him as a night guard. After all, the museum hadn't been destroyed, the world hadn't ended, and all in all, everything in New York seemed to be running smoothly for all it was worth.

She and Larry were already working toward facing this threat McPhee couldn't yet begin to grasp. They had some museum exhibits in on their plan for stopping this snake demon, which was in the works in its own self.

Could this really work? Well, the answer depended on what plan these players came up with to play the game, and some of the exhibits discussed one trick in particular that Tally had learned, which seemed too good to be true, and Tally likely looked on it as an accident more than anything else.

He jerked himself out of his musings to return to his more pressing practical matters.

Tally clocked into the museum several minutes early and made a beeline for the Egyptian Wing, where she sat in front of the tablet and whispered, "What do I do? I know I can do what you can, but it's too dangerous. It could kill everyone."

'Use its power to destroy Apep,' Ra's voice whispered in her mind. 'After that, you won't need all the tablet's power.'

"So you're the one allowing me access to this?"

'The tablet allows you access to its power, but it recognizes your hesitation to use it. We both feel you are wise in this reservation, but even so, if you wish, we may bind this power.'

"But why do you want me to use it?"

'For good.'

The tablet glowed at sunset, awakening the museum, allowing Tally to unlock the sarcophagus and grant Ahkmenrah's escape. "How do you feel?" he asked.

"Kinda weird, since the tablet's allowing me to extend its power."

He nuzzled her nose and whispered, "Your mind is too occupied, and because you're so powerful, your mind and your will are forcing things into being, or so I might believe."

"Makes sense, but I can't have this power. It's too dangerous."

"Perhaps you could bind it."

"And how will that affect the grand scheme of things?"

"Perhaps it will have little effect on such a grand scheme."

"Maybe this was what Isis was talking about when she said to trust Jesse. I can do a lot of things, and maybe that's it. We've probably all got a little Jesse inside us."

"Who's talkin' 'bout me?" Jesse asked from the doorway.

"Guess we can bind that power after all," Tally whispered. "We've got a problem, and I think you might be just the type to be able to help us."

"Help? Help how?"

"I'm figuring that out as I go, with a little help. You robbed stagecoaches and trains, right?"

"Yeah, though I never bothered with this place."

"There's a functioning stage coach around here," Ahkmenrah said.

"You busted out of your crate, I see," Tally said, perhaps hoping to change the subject.

"Whaddaya think you'd need me to do?"

"If we need to evacuate the tablet, then we can set up a relay, complete with fake stagecoach robbery, if you want in."

"Course I want in."

"Okay, so here's the thing. Judgment day is at hand, so we've come to believe, and there's a snake demon, which is basically the Egyptian devil, that wants to send the world into eternal darkness and chaos, at least until all life on Earth dies."

"Sounds bad."

"Yeah, so that's what we're up against."

"'Kay, so whaddawe do until then?"

"We wait, watch, and gather information."

Jesse nodded, still leaning against the column. He attracted an odd look from Kahmunrah, but Tally walked out to the lobby before anything got ugly.


	6. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

Tally paced in the security office, watched by Larry, who was seated on the couch. "What's on your mind this time?" he asked finally.

"Okay, so I don't need to awaken Jesse with this weird new power I may or may not have. However, there is still the matter of Apep, which requires its own dealing with," Tally said. "We've got a lot to protect, and potentially not a lot of time."

"Okay, so what's the problem?"

"Dammit, Larry. What the hell?"

"What?"

"Look, we've got to figure out how to handle the potential end of the world, and guess what? How much time have we had to deal with situations in the past?"

"About two nights."

"Yes, exactly. So we really don't have the time weeks or months would provide us."

"I take it Jesse's back."

"Yes, he's back, but don't change the subject."

"Okay, okay."

"So here's the thing," Tally said, sitting next to Larry on the couch. "We've got about a week, max, and all we can do right now is sit back and watch the situation unfold, and we don't know how long this is gonna last."

"Okay."

"So we've got nothing to go on, okay?"

"Yeah. We're stuck, basically."

"Yeah, between a rock and a hard place. So we wait until we find out which is worse, and pick the better one."

"Yeah, that sounds like a really good plan right now."

"It's the best we've got."

Tally ran her midnight rounds when her phone rang. She was in the Western Wing when she answered. "Yeah? Tally Fredricks."

"Tally, we've got a huge problem," Brunden said. "The circles, they're all glowing and everything. There's a giant snake trashing the museum, and now it just broke out and-" A hideous, earth-shattering roar cut Brunden off, and when it was over, he said, "It's going north."

"North?"

"Yeah, north."

"Dammit."

Brunden hung up, most likely out of fear, and Tally snapped her phone shut, turning to face Jesse. "We're screwed," she said.

"What happened?" he asked.

"Find Ahk. From now on, we're SWAG-in' it."

Jesse found Ahkmenrah exactly where he expected to, in the Egyptian Wing, discussing something with his brother in an ancient language the outlaw had no way of understanding. "It's bad," he said. "It's real bad."

"Bad? Bad how?" Ahkmenrah asked.

"I dunno. She wouldn't say."

"Tally?"

"Yeah. Something just went way wrong."

Ahkmenrah ran past Jesse, up a flight of stairs, and into the Western Wing, where Tally still stood. "What happened?" he asked.

"Apep. He's back in our world," she said numbly. "And he's coming here."

"What? How?"

"Brunden...he told me about a bunch of circles, and they started glowing. They must've been positioned in such a way that Apep could come back."

"How? Where?"

"In the Smithsonian, but we can't waste our time. There's no telling when a huge magical snake could get here."

"What do we do?"

"SWAG it."

"Beg pardon?"

"Scientific Wild-Ass Guess."

"Sounds sketchy."

"Sketchy's all we've got right now."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, as sure as I can be right now."

"Be strong," Ahkmenrah whispered, pulling Tally close to him and twisting his fingers through her hair. "Tell me what I must do to help you."

"What about the tablet?"

"What about it?"

"Is it safe here?"

"It should be."

"We've got to do something. That tablet makes this museum."

"Yes, I understand."

Tally sighed and closed her eyes. "When does this stop?"

"With this fight with Apep, as far as my knowledge goes."

"I hope it's soon."

Larry sat on the steps, having just had a nice conversation with Nicky, and he couldn't help feeling he might never see his son again, if whatever was coming was as bad as everyone who knew thought it was, as the case may have been.

At the horizon to the south, he glimpsed a snake's head, rushing toward him. He shot to his feet and ran inside, where he almost ran into Jesse. "Giant snake...coming...this way," Larry half-stuttered, half panted.

"I didn't know it could get that bad," Jesse whispered, his eyes drifting to the front door, where the snake's head appeared.

As if by some unseen force, the glass of the front doors shattered into tiny flecks of glass. 


	7. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Tally ran to the lobby as soon as soon as she heard the shattering glass, and Ahkmenrah was at her heel every step of the way. They found Apep coiled in the center of the lobby, which was ringed by armed exhibits. Larry and Jesse were behind the reception desk, both peeking over the desktop.

"The tablet," Tally whispered hoarsely.

"How?"

"Jesse."

"What?" Ahkmenrah and Jesse asked at the same time.

Tally gestured for Jesse to join her and said, "Jack the tablet and run."

"Are you nuts?"

"Just do it. It's not safe here."

Jesse ran toward the Egyptian Wing, and action Apep didn't fail to notice. He shot out in that direction, and Tally shoved Ahkmenrah aside, holding up her arms and feeling that familiar surge of power. Golden light shot from her palms and formed a shield of sorts, searing the black snake as he made contact with it.

The snake recoiled and struck again, but again he was seared and forced to back off.

Tally could feel the tablet leaving the museum by way of a service entrance toward the back.

The snake lunged after the tablet again, and Tally struck him down, forcing him back, toward the front doors. "You didn't think I'd let it be that easy, did you?"

Jesse mounted a horse one of the Huns had broken out as some form of precaution that only they were familiar with. With Ahkmenrah mounted behind him, the other horses were occupied by huns chasing them down.

"Can't ya tell them we're on they're side?" Jesse asked.

Ahkmenrah called a few things back in Hunnish, and the Huns pulled back and returned to the musuem.

"Thanks."

"Don't mention it."

They rode on, Ahkmenrah giving Jesse directions, until finally, they ended up in Central Park. Jesse slowed the horse to a stop, and Ahkmenrah dismounted. "I may never get used to that," the pharaoh muttered, taking the tablet from Jesse.

"So now what happens?"

"Apep comes here, and hopefully, so does Tally."

"You're hopin'?"

"It's the best we can do, at least, right now."

"Go, I'll cover," Larry said, gesturing for Tally to retreat to the Egyptian Wing. Tally glanced between Larry and Apep before running down the corridor and out one of the service entrances. The Huns were just retreating to as close as they dared to go to the museum, and Tally glimpsed a horse with two riders riding off toward Central Park. Without a second thought, she followed them.

She was struck across the back of the head and sent flying forward into the snow. When she rolled onto her back, she found herself staring up at the lightly colored belly of a gigantic black snake.

A horrible feeling seized Ahkmenrah, and he thrust the tablet back into Jesse's hands, preparing to run off down the street when the outlaw stopped him. "Take this," he said, handing the pharaoh one of his revolvers. "You cock it, then you pull the trigger, and it fires one shot for each time you do that."

Ahkmenrah nodded, took the revolver, and ran down the street, where he found Tally, staring up at the snake Apep. Without a thought, he cocked the gun and pulled the trigger.

The bullet struck Apep in the base of his skull. He recoiled with a hideous, bloodcurdling shriek, almost having a spasm as he struggled with the bullet lodged in his body.

Tally got to her feet and exchanged glances between Apep and Ahkmenrah. "Let me guess," she said. "Jesse lent you the gun."

"Yes."

"Okay, let's run."

Tally and Ahkmenrah ran toward where Jesse stood next to the horse, the tablet under one arm. "Not much time," Tally said. "He's coming."

"Now what?" Jesse asked.

Tally lowered her gaze and licked her lip once. "Now," she said, mainly to Ahkmenrah, "I need you to trust me."

Ahkmenrah pulled her close to him and whispered, "I do, my lovely one." Tally turned her head, peering through the concrete jungle and regular jungle at the struggling, pained form of the snake trying to make its way toward them.

"I think I've got an idea."

Larry stared at the front door, wondering why exactly Jesse, Ahkmenrah, and Tally were walking in at that particular moment, with a writhing but still fast snake several feet behind them. The trio didn't even seem to notice.

"The tablet, please," Tally said to Jesse, who handed her the tablet. She walked into the center of the lobby and sat cross-legged, the tablet resting on her legs.

"Are you nuts?" Ahkmenrah suddenly asked.

"I have no choice."

The power went out and the snake Apep flew into the lobby, coiling toward the ceiling. She closed her eyes, took a steadying breath, and allowed energy to flow freely between her and the tablet.

The miniatures led their forces to the lobby, where they formed ranks and took aim.

Jed's eyes drifted to Tally, who was presently engulfed in an orb of golden light. Apep circled her like a vulture, but every time he tried to strike, lightning shot from the orb to wherever he was, forcing him back.

Octavius hatched an idea by watching this and gave a few orders to his Roman soldiers in Latin. They fired flaming arrows and projectiles, but these fell shamefully short of contact with any part of the circling snake.

"Well, ya tried," Jed said encouragingly, but Octavius gave him a sharp look.

Tally's mind flashed on her freezing Kahmunrah, who was already a wax model, but Apep's screams jarred her out of her musings. Perhaps her mere thoughts had done something to him.

She thought on what she might've done to him, and he screamed again, puzzling her even further.

Ahkmenrah and Jesse stared at this unusual spectacle until finally, Apep snuck a strike in at Tally, sending her flying into the balconly. The golden light surrounding her died away, and the tablet clattered to the floor behind the reception desk.


	8. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

Tally first became aware of an overwhelming sense of dread, and then she opened her eyes and pushed herself up with her arms. She noticed that parts of Apep's tail were immobile and had the unmistakeable dull luster of wax. In his jaws was the tablet.

She leapt up to her feet and jumped over the balcony railing, landing on Apep's slithering form. He struggled to shake her off, but she held fast.

Ahkmenrah suddenly realized he was holding the revolver still, so he cocked the gun again, just in case. He continued to watch Apep fight Tally off when he noticed that Apep noticed he was holding a gun.

Apep changed his strategy and started keeping Tally between Ahkmenrah and himself at all costs. She continued to hold tight to him, inching toward the tablet in his jaws. Eventually, Tally reached the base of Apep's neck and pulled hard on the hold she had, twisting his head and giving Akhmenrah and opening to pull the trigger, even though the bullet lodged itself in the snake's spine several feet beyond Tally.

Apep's screams forced him to drop the tablet, and she could see Larry diving after it and then retreating against the lobby wall.

Eventually, his desperate struggles knocked her off, and she, too, fell to the floor.

The gun fell from Ahkmenrah's hand and clattered to the floor, a sound which seemed, at least to him, to echo through a silent abyss. He ran over to where Tally lay, her shoulder tweaked in such an odd way as to be sickening to the beholder.

Carefully, he popped it back in place, but in general, he left her in that position. Only then did he look up at Apep, who continued to circle the lobby like a vulture.

He could see the miniatures attempting a good shot at him with whatever they had available to them, and he could see Larry and Kahmunrah, their eyes on Apep and both guarding the tablet. Jesse merely stared at the scene unfolding before him.

Ahkmenrah returned his attention to Tally, entwining her fingers in her hair.

It took Jesse a good several minutes to finally recover enough of his wits to draw his other gun, cock it, and fire, taking aim at the snake's skull. The snake again shrieked and recoiled viciously, bleeding from a wound in the middle of his jaw. "Hate snakes," Jesse muttered through gritted teeth.

Apep lunged for Jesse then, and the outlaw cocked his gun again, taking another shot, this one right between the eyes. Apep shrieked, spazzing out and flopping through the air like a fish out of water. That's when Jesse noticed a few parts of the snake had been turned to wax.

Apep crashed to the floor, still flopping about, but clearly loosing his energy or his will, or both. "You...will pay...for this," he hissed.

Octavius seized his opportunity and ordered his men to ready everything which could be set alight and launch it at the snake. Jed flashed the general a look which said, "Are you sure about this?" but Octavius only nodded in reply. Jed shrugged and told his men to offer any help which may have been needed.

Tally found herself floating, surrounded by nothing but mist. An old familiar voice whispered, "You can't really think it's your time, can you?"

"Cecil?" Tally asked in a hoarse whisper.

"Listen to me, Tally-baby. You've still got a giant snake to finish off, and a kid to grow and raise, my great-grandkid. You've been through a lot worse than this fall you suffered."

"Maybe my resolve is failing me."

"You can't let it. There're still several things you must do right now. The museum needs you, your fiance needs you. Your life needs you."

"Maybe it doesn't anymore."

"How can you say that?"

"Why else would I be here, talking to you again when I know you're a spirit that can't yet cross into the underworld."

"Maybe I soon could, if I made this small contribution to the greater good."

"What greater good? I've been fighting enemies for two and a half years and I have yet to figure out what the hell the greater good happens to be."

"Think about it, Tally. You've got a fight to finish. You need to go back."

Something about his words struck a cord in her. 'You've got a fight to finish.' Perhaps that was why she always fought, settling scores and resolving things. She didn't know whether or not she was on the side of good or evil, but maybe she didn't need to know. "You're right," she finally said. "I have a score to settle with a recurring enemy."

"So go, and be strong. Have a little faith in yourself."

Tally became less and less aware of this scene where she'd gotten in touch with her grandfather, and gradually, she became aware of the real world. Her shoulder was in terrible pain, but other than that, she felt more or less normal, especially as she became aware of Ahkmenrah's fingers in her hair. "Oh, thank the gods you're alright," he whispered.

"Why shouldn't I be?" she replied.

"Bear in mind that in a few hours, you'll feel like you got ran over by an eighteen-wheel truck."

"Yeah, I've had that happen before. I know what it feels like."

"Good. Now, we have a fight to finish."

"That we do."

Tally allowed Ahkmenrah to help her to her feet, and together, they walked out from behind the reception desk to face the writhing terror of darkness and chaos incarnate in the form of a snake.

Larry watched in paralysis as the tablet he and Kahmunrah guarded from the snake began to glow as Tally and Akhmenrah walked out to face the snake Apep. Kahmunrah had drawn his sword and taken a step toward Apep, and the closer Tally got to Apep, the brighter the tablet glowed.

"It's judgment day," Tally whispered, holding her hand out toward the struggling Apep and watching his body slowly, segment by segment, turning to wax from the tail up. Apep screached throughout the whole process until his head and face were frozen in that horrific, pained expression.

Dizzy, Tally collapsed to the floor, her eyes barely open.

"Do we just leave him like that?" Ahkmenrah asked.

"No," Tally replied weakly. "We lock him out, and then we leave him like that."

"Sounds like a good plan to me," Kahmunrah said when Ahkmenrah glanced at him. "When do we start?"

Kahmunrah swiftly organized the mobilization of the perpetually frozen Apep out one of the service entrances. Larry locked the door after the group returned to the confines of the museum.

Tally found herself on the couch in the security office, Ahkmenrah sitting next to her. "It's finally over," he whispered. "At least, until the sun rises."

"Yeah, and then it really is over," Tally replied. "Think Ra will continue his travels through the underworld?"

"Of course. Our gods believe in order, so he would maintain his habit, and nothing would change."

"At least not perceptibly. What about eclipses?"

"Leave those to Apep's demons, and leave the chaos to them as well. You've nothing to worry about." Ahkmenrah stroked Tally's face as he said this.

"I think we can get married now."

"That sounds lovely."


	9. Epilogue

Epilogue

The museum was in its usual organized chaos for the reception. Exhibits discussed amongst themselves how they couldn't believe one of their own would marry, one even commenting, "Well, at least he married a night guard that actually works here."

Even with music blaring and people dancing and general ruckus everywhere, some exhibits, like Jed and Octavius, found some time alone.

"Did you enjoy the wedding?" Octavius asked.

"Ya know I'm a sucker for happy endin's," Jed replied. "Course I enjoyed it."

"If I may ask, should we?"

"Should we what?"

"Marry."

"Can we?"

"Excuse me?"

"I mean, is it legal?"

"You're one to ask this. What would you say in reply to this?"

"I'd probably say, oh, somethin' like, 'Who the hell cares?'"

"Which is my response to the letter. Besides, we're exhibits, not people. Human laws don't apply to us, and no one has to know." Octavius smiled at his last few words, leaning toward Jedediah.

"Guess you're right. Jus' not sure about it, is all."

"If you're not ready, I'll understand."

"Okay, 'cause I ain't so sure."

Octavius kissed his lover lightly.

Tally leaned against Ahkmenrah on a bench in the Egyptian Wing. "How'd it get to this point? I mean, here we are, husband and wife, when you're forever young and I'm going to grow old and die, which seems to bug me for some reason, and yet we've still pulled it off," she whispered.

"At least you'll be happy for as long as you can possibly be, and I'm sure even when you're ninety, you'll still feel like you're twenty-four."

"But I won't be pregnant with Ramses Cecil."

"Beg pardon?"

"Our son. I still want to honor his great-grandfather, because without him, I wouldn't be here, believe it or not, and Ramses is a good name for a boy, I think. It's not too weird, and it's not too girly. He'll be just fine as far as that goes."

"You've got an extremely active mind."

"That a problem?"

"I actually find it fairly attractive."

"Thanks. Y'know, I've got a feeling this is gonna be another beautiful sunrise."

"I don't see why it shouldn't be, my lovely one."

Even as Tally clocked out, she felt the warmth of the sun, and her mind drifted to Ra, who seemed to smile upon her as she walked approximately a mile to her apartment complex.


End file.
